[1234567]

Is anybody using solid works for fixture design? It takes us so long to design and bulid fixtures for castings to be machined.

[cygnus x-1]

Absolutely. The limit to what you can design depends mostly on how skilled you are at using it.

C|

[1234567]

Thanks for the reply. Im also a rush fan.

[cygnus x-1]

Thanks for the reply. Im also a rush fan.

Nice! I don't make fixtures for castings but more for assembly line fixtures. How are you doing this now?

C|

[1234567]

Most of the time we have to wait for a casting to arrive. Which already puts us behind by weeks. We almost always have the model available but untill we have the casting on hand we can't do much. I use bobcad for cam and some drawing. But the cad side is very limited.

[Mike 1948]

Most of the time we have to wait for a casting to arrive. Which already puts us behind by weeks. We almost always have the model available but untill we have the casting on hand we can't do much. I use bobcad for cam and some drawing. But the cad side is very limited.

I guess I don't understand the problem if you use Solidworks. Your fixturing looks like it is used to hold the casting for machining. If you have a model available you can put that in a assembly in SWX and start designing your fixturing around that model. You could have the fixture design pretty well complete and make minor changes when the casting is in hand. Check the Help menu for "in-context" assembly modeling.
It takes practice and patience but Solidworks does this type of design very well and will outperform Bobcad by leaps and bounds. If you company can afford it I would recommend training at a local reseller to get off on the right foot. There are also many videos on YouTube if you run a search.

Mike

[1234567]

We dont have solidworks yet. Our fixture builder is going to retire soon and I dont think he will be replaced. So I guess my question is in the long run will solidworks save me time? I would really like to have the fixtures made before casting arrive.

[Mike 1948]

Yes, you can design and build the fixture before the casting arrives. That is the way it is generally done. This requires the mold maker to construct the mold to match the model within reasonable tolerances also. You should only have to make "minor" changes to fit the casting. If you use in-context modeling or also called top-down design, changes to the casting model will carry through to the fixture and changes will be made to effected parts in the fixture "almost" automatically.
As I said before if your company can afford it, I would recommend training at a local reseller to get off on the right foot and it will get you up to speed in a much shorter time frame. I don't sell Solidworks but have been a satisfied user for 17 years designing casting dies and injection molds. The more you use it, the more you will like it.
PM me with any questions

Good luck
Mike

[1234567]

Thanks Mike.

[twoartistic]

Yes, I design fixtures all the time in SOLIDWORKS. Depending on your castings, they will have some tolerance variations that you will have to anticipate (I design in some adjust ability). I build my fixtures as a top down (in context), assembly. BTW, I also use this model to import into my CAM software. This allows me to see my fixture as I program my toolpaths. Very helpful in avoiding crashing the tool into my fixture.

Having used both BobCad and Solidworks, I can tell you that you are going to have some learning curve. Get the software, take a class and/or some training.